This Podcast Series is about Pharmacists & Physicians collaborating on the proper & humane usage of pain managment strategies, the usage of opioids, and evidence-based medication therapy management practices. 

Each day, more than 130 people die from opioid overdoses. Opioids are a class of drugs that include prescription pain relievers like oxycodone. They also include illegal drugs like heroin. In 2019, 1.6 million Americans had an opioid addiction. This is also known as opioid use disorder. Yet effective medications—like buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone—are prescribed to only a fraction of people with opioid use disorder.

Patients often receive such medications in an opioid treatment program. Methadone, for example, can only be given in a certified treatment program. Primary care physicians can apply for a waiver to prescribe buprenorphine. However, less than 10% of U.S. primary care providers have a buprenorphine waiver. Given the limited number of patients that each physician can treat, involving pharmacists in opioid treatment may improve access.

Part one features two executives from PROP - Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing to se the stage for the podcast collaborative and helping pharmacists and physicians to work together more effectively through the expertise and experiences of our doctors. 

Today's Guests: 

Jane C. Ballantyne, MD, FRCA
President, PROP
Professor, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
University of Washington 

Andrew Kolodny, MD
Vice President, Federal Affairs, PROP;
Medical Director, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative,
Heller School for Social Policy & Management
Brandeis University

Learn more at: http://www.supportprop.org/ 

#PROPRx